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sxndaze's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
my first time rereading tid in over a decade and wow! what an adventure. i’m ashamed to admit i’ve forgotten nearly everything that doesn’t deal with herongraystairs, but that’s the magic of revisiting a series years later. the twist is kind of laughably predictable but at least the build up is there. i didn’t appreciate the lore rehash in the past, but boy did it come in handy this time around. i love the characters, and i’m eager to revisit them again and see how everything pans out.
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug use, Kidnapping, and Alcohol
Minor: Addiction and Infertility
pitbulls_and_prose's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
As the first book in The Infernal Devices trilogy, this was my next read in my Shadowhunters journey! I was a little nervous at first because I don't usually like a lot of historical fiction, but I should have known that the Shadowhunters would reel me in nonetheless. I immediately felt like I knew and liked the characters for the most part. It's probably because they felt like a one-to-one comparison to Clary, Jace, Alec, and Izzy from The Mortal Instruments. That is more than okay with me, however, especially getting into the first book of a trilogy. I thought that the villain/threat of this book was pretty interesting and a bit of a departure for the Shadowhunter world. I'm here for this love triangle as per usual, and am excited to see where it goes. Tessa has great chemistry with both of these boys, though obviously, I have a favorite. I struggled with Will's personality and actions throughout the book, but it's obvious that this is set up for a series arc so we shall see how he progresses.
Maybe this is minutia that only I care about, but I will never not be amused by how Cassandra Clare names things in these books. While she doesn't mention my favorite name, "Jonathan Shadowhunter", in this book, that does not stop her in other respects! Henry, the inventor of the group, creates a tool to sense demonic energy and says something along the lines of "I've created this tool to sense demonic energy. I shall call it a Sensor". It is always silly and I always love it.
I'm really enjoying everything about this series and am excited to continue.
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Torture, and Death of parent
Minor: Infertility
laneyreadz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Drug use, and Death of parent
matildasouthern's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Drug use, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Minor: Infertility, Sexism, and Alcohol
thecamcollective's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture
Mind the tags but think about them in the context of a YA fantasy series that centers around angel warriors that hunt demons and deal with supernatural creatures, such as warlocks, vampires, werewolves, etc. Additionally, the sexism is period-typical sexism and misogyny.caesar2014's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug use, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Minor: Infertility
sammymilfort's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent
bludgeoned_by_hail's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Clare's writing style is very skillful, the plot is tense and exciting, the shadowy fantasy underworld of London has a great atmosphere, and the themes of interracial tensions, prejudice, loyalty and duty are handled with more nuance and subtlety than the usual in YA.
However, for all of its strengths, the book can't help but tumble into the tropes, pitfalls and 2010-isms of its genre, including but not limited to: the naive and plain but extraordinary young heroine plunged into an unknown magic world, the uninspired love triangle of a dark bad boy and a sensitive blonde boy, the Magic Academy turned new home hidden from humans, a conspicuous amount of orphans, and a sarcastic quip per page ratio constantly approaching critical levels. The déja vu gets especially grating if you're familiar with Clare's past work (which this is a prequel of).
Despite all of this, there is still a lot of promise and professionality at display, some genuinely great character work, and the bones for a nice trilogy.
I hope you're finally satisfied Veerliene xx
Moderate: Drug use and Violence
Minor: Death, Torture, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
thebankofbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
rafacolog's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Death, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Drug use, Racism, and Torture